Seedlings in a soiless medium, Help!

wod420

Active Member
I am having a issue with my seedlings in a peat verm perl mix, which are in jiffy seedling starter cups. The mixture seems to not be holding water too well, I've been having to water every day... They are just seedlings, by doing this will i kill them by over watering everyday? Or will I be alright. I have been making sure the soil is completely dry before watering, and I have been misting the tops when i get home from work. Haven't started adding any nutes yet either do to this complication. Any suggestions?
 

Mother's Finest

Well-Known Member
Once the 3-bladed leaves start growing in, they can and probably should be transplanted into nutritious soil. Since you seem to be at or near that point, you should just see if the problem persists after transplanting. I'd expect it to get better, at least.
 

wod420

Active Member
that site didn't work for me. really just looking for someone with personal experience with a soiless mix. I'll try transplanting a couple of them into a stronger mix of peat. see how that works. any one have suggestions?
 

wod420

Active Member
can I keep watering them daily without killing them lol...? guess i should be alright. going to get a ph meter and moisture meter soon. and will move to bigger pots soon with a bigger peat percent in my mix.
 

Mother's Finest

Well-Known Member
Yes, they'll be fine watering so much if that's how often they need water. The only issue you might run into when needing to water that often is giving the plants much more of any impurities in the liquid. That can be avoided by using well purified water.

The only real difference growing with common soilless mediums is they typically use a lower pH than normal soil, usually 5.7-6.

It sounds like the air is just very dry. A humidifier would definately stop the soil from drying so quickly. Frequent spraying, lower temps, larger pots and/or shielding the soil surface from the dry air should also help the problem.
 

wod420

Active Member
I agree. my gf does think its really dry in our house. plus the 200w cfl doesn't help either. I'll just keep misting till i have to water again. I wait till the bottom of the cups are dry before i water again. They are coming along good so far. Here is a couple pics of my setup. I am adding a fan in that back cutout soon. just have to find the right one and wire it. maybe some suggestions?
 

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